closeicon
World

Judo Olympian refuses to shake Israeli athlete’s hand and shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’

Nurali Emomali of Tajikistan later dislocated his arm against a Japanese judoka

articlemain

Nurali Emomali of Team Tajikistan is helped of the mat by medical staff after suffering a wrist injury during the 66kg Quarterfinal match between Hifumi Abe of Team Japan and Nurali Emomali of Team Tajikistan (Photo: Getty)

A judo competitor representing Tajikistan refused to shake his Israeli opponent’s hand at the Paris Olympics and instead said “Allahu Akbar”.

Nurali Emomali later dislocated his arm in different fight, an incident Israel supporters described as “karma”.

Emomali, who won the match against Tohar Butbul, walked off the mat without making the respectful gesture to his Israeli opponent.

Instead, he chose to say "Allahu Akbar" while holding up a prayer symbol, known as the "Finger of Tawheed."

The symbol refers to the Islamic belief that "There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His prophet."

In a later fight Emomali faced Japanese Olympian Hifumi Abe, which resulted in a painful injury for the Tajikistan representative.

Footage of the match shows Abe slamming Emomali to the ground.

The force of the body slam caused Emomali’s arm to bend and dislocate as it hit the mat.

Michael Dickinson, the executive director of the pro-Israel group StandWithUs said: "Bad sport Nurali Emomali from Tajikistan refused to shake hands with Israeli judo competitor Baruch Shmailov and shouted ‘Allahu Akbar.’ Emomali ended up with a dislocated shoulder crying on the mat. Olympic levels of karma."

The Israeli athlete is still in the competition and moving forward to the next round on Monday after an Algerian opponent, Messaoud Redouane Dris, dropped out of the competition.

The Algerian judoka was reportedly disqualified for exceeding the weight limit the day before his Olympic 73 kg bout against Butbul, organisers said.

Share via

Want more from the JC?

To continue reading, we just need a few details...

Want more from
the JC?

To continue reading, we just
need a few details...

Get the best news and views from across the Jewish world Get subscriber-only offers from our partners Subscribe to get access to our e-paper and archive